Gemcitabine is used in various
carcinomas: non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer and
breast cancer. It is being investigated for use in esophageal cancer, and is
used experimentally in lymphomas and various other tumor types. Gemcitabine
represents an advance in pancreatic cancer care[citation needed]. It is also
not as debilitating as some other forms of chemotherapy.

A study reported in the Journal of the
American Medical Association in 2007 suggested that gemcitabine showed
benefit in patients with pancreatic cancer who were felt to have successful
tumor resections.[3]

Gemcitabine became first line
treatment for bladder cancer Stage 4 with metastases in combination with
cisplatin after a study in 2000 with 405 patients showed similar efficacy but
less toxicity compared to the former MVAC regimen.[4] This new CG-regimen
involves taking cisplatin on day 2 and taking gemcitabine on days 1, 8, and
15. In July 2006 the FDA approved gemcitabine for use with carboplatin in the
treatment of advanced ovarian cancer that has relapsed at least 6 months
after completion of platinum-based (e.g., carboplatin or cisplatin) therapy.
Neutropenia was the most commonly reported adverse effect (90% of patients).
Other serious adverse effects were mostly hematologic. Gemcitabine was
recently also investigated for advanced cancer of the biliary tract and
gallbladder and was found to have a modest effect on the tumor when combined
with cisplatin (NEJM 2010).